Attorney asks Fla. AG to investigate Winston case

A lawyer for the woman who accused Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston of sexual assault asked Friday for Florida's attorney general to independently examine the rape investigation, claiming it was riddled with problems.

Quick Clicks

Attorney Patricia Carroll called on the attorney general to investigate the Tallahassee Police Department's handling of the case, saying that detectives failed to interview key witnesses, used unreliable and incomplete forensic tests and never tested the alleged victim's blood for the presence of date-rape drugs. However, spokeswoman Jenn Meale said the Attorney General's Office hadn't yet received a formal request from Carroll.

"It appears to me to be a complete failure of an investigation of a rape case," Carroll said during the 90-minute news conference.

The media event came one day before the scheduled announcement of the Heisman Trophy winner. Winston, a 19-year-old who led FSU to a No. 1 ranking and a shot at a national championship, is a favorite to win.

Carroll said the Heisman had nothing to do with her client's accusations. Winston redshirted during the 2012 season and was not playing when the woman accused him of rape.

"I'm not focusing on football," she said. "Sometimes it's not about football. Sometimes it's about rape."

The lead detective got a search warrant for her client's cellphone and social media accounts but failed to do the same for Winston and his two companions immediately after the accusations were made, Carroll said.

"It was very obvious as this progressed that we didn't feel like we were going to get a proper investigation," Carroll said.

Investigators also focused an unusual amount of attention on the fact the alleged victim had the DNA of her boyfriend on her underpants in addition to that of Winston, Carroll said. The consensual sexual encounter with the boyfriend happened before the encounter involving Winston and wouldn't have been allowed to be introduced in a courtroom, she said. State law does not allow defendants to call an alleged victim's past sexual behavior into question.

Winston's attorney has said any sex between his client and the accuser was consensual.

Carroll also criticized Tallahassee Police for not submitting the woman's sexual assault kit to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement lab until Jan. 17, 2013 - 39 days after it was taken. The attorney questioned whether evidence was properly preserved during those 39 days. She said that medical records released to the media contain less information than those same medical records obtained by the family.

"The bulk of the investigation was into the rape victim," Carroll said. "I'm looking at an investigation of a rape victim, not a rape suspect."

Tallahassee police have defended their handling of the case.

"The case is closed, and we continue to support Mr. Meggs as we have done throughout this process," David Northway, a spokesman for the Tallahassee Police Department, said Friday.

Carroll also questioned Leon County State Attorney Willie Meggs' reliance on two witnesses - Winston's teammates Christopher Casher and Ronald Darby. Both men said they were with Winston when the accuser struck up a conversation with him at a bar, and both men told police they saw Winston having consensual sex with the woman in his bedroom.

Last week, Meggs said there was not enough evidence to win a conviction against the FSU quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate, mostly because there were too many gaps in his accuser's story.

Carroll said her client watched the news conference in which Meggs' announced he would not prosecute the case with her parents and cried.

"She's not doing well, but she's a strong girl," said Carroll. "She's in the middle of a media storm. Her life's been turned upside down. She's going to try to continue to heal."

Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Comments

The views expressed below are not those of News4Jax or its affiliated companies. By clicking on "Post," you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Service and your comment is in compliance with such terms. Readers, please help keep this discussion respectful and on topic by flagging comments that are offensive or inappropriate (hover over the commenter's name and you'll see the flag option appear on right side of that line). And remember, respect goes both ways: Tolerance of others' opinions is important in a free discourse. If you're easily offended by strong opinions, you might skip reading comments entirely.

National News

Gen. David Petraeus pleaded guilty to federal charges Tuesday to end a probe into whether he provided classified information to his mistress when he was CIA director, according to a U.S. official briefed on the matter.